The Office of the US Trade Representative on September 13 announced final amendments to the statutory review of tariffs on Chinese goods under Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974, including a 100% tariff on electric vehicles, 50% on semiconductors and solar panels, 25% on battery components and many critical minerals. Most of the increases will take effect on September 27, Xinhua reported.
A spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce said Beijing has repeatedly lodged protests with Washington over the Section 301 tariffs.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled that Section 301 tariffs violate WTO rules. However, the US side has continued to increase tariffs on Chinese products, another mistake, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce stressed.
The move is a typical act of unilateralism and trade protectionism, which seriously undermines the international trade order, as well as the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains, the spokesperson said.
Moreover, this move not only fails to solve the US' own problems related to trade deficit and industrial competitiveness, but also pushes up the price of US imports and forces US companies and consumers to bear additional costs, the spokesperson added.
The spokesman stressed that China will take necessary measures to firmly protect the interests of Chinese enterprises.
The unilateral measures, which are in clear violation of WTO rules, will seriously undermine the confidence of relevant Chinese and US industries in long-term stable cooperation, and have a negative impact on industrial cooperation and the global supply chain, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) said on September 14.
The Chinese business community strongly opposes such actions, a CCPIT spokesman said.
Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 empowers the United States to impose trade sanctions on countries that violate trade agreements or engage in practices that harm U.S. commerce.
Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods were first announced by the administration of former President Donald Trump in 2018, sparking a protracted trade war between the world's two largest economies, applying to about $300 billion worth of Chinese imports into the United States.
